A man has been jailed for 10 years after a gun and cocaine worth over £1 million was found at his home, including under his child’s cot.

Officers from the Organised Crime Partnership, a joint National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police Service unit, arrested Muhamet Qosja, 29, in October last year after he was followed and stopped in his car on Melbourne Road in Ilford.

A search of the vehicle revealed £23,000 in cash hidden in a compartment behind the dashboard.

Further searches of his home on Valentines Road, Ilford, led to the discovery of a handgun with 20 rounds of ammunition and five one-kilo blocks of cocaine hidden in bags beneath a child’s cot.

Another six kilos of cocaine and drugs paraphernalia was found in laundry bags.

The drugs would be worth in the region of £1.1 million if sold on the streets of the UK.

Qosja told officers that he’d been living in the UK illegally since arriving from Albania in 2014, and he actively sought out work as a drug dealer, as he knew it ‘paid well’.

Today (June 10) at Snaresbrook Crown Court, he was sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to firearms, drugs and money laundering charges last year.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Brookes from the Organised Crime Partnership said: “Qosja was motivated by financial gain; however, I hope today's sentence acts as a clear warning and deterrent for anyone considering criminality as an alternative career path”.

“Violence and exploitation are directly linked to drug trafficking and the illegal use of firearms, the impact of which damages our communities”.

“The OCP is dedicated to protecting the public by reducing the availability of firearms and disrupting the supply of drugs at all stages.”